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'Ego Death' Is the Trip Competitive Psychedelic Users Are Chasing

vice.com · 1,739 words · saved by 1 readers

"The first time I experienced ego death," says Bradley, a 26-year-old from Idaho, "I took four-and-a-half grams [of magic mushrooms]. At first I tried to focus on bringing myself back a little bit, but that obviously wasn't going to work because the mushies knew what I needed. So I just reminded myself that, even though it feels like I'm dying, I'm definitely not." The "ego death" that Bradley describes is an extreme state brought on by psychedelic drugs that is becoming increasingly popular with online psychonauts: an initially terrifying sensation of dying, where the user enters a trance and occasionally screams, before their entire sense of self disappears and they're left with nothing but the awareness that everything in the universe is connected. "Ego death" in the broader sense doesn't necessarily involve LSD, or mushrooms, or DMT, or anything else you'd hope to find in a squat raver's bum-bag. It's simply a life-shattering cerebral experience. Buddhists call it Enlightenment and

Share: Share on X (Opens in new window) X Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share using Native tools Share Copied to clipboard “The first time I experienced ego death,” says Bradley, a 26-year-old from Idaho, “I took four-and-a-half grams [of magic mushrooms]. At first I tried to focus on bringing myself back a little bit, but that obviously wasn’t going to work because the mushies knew what I needed. So I just reminded myself that, even though it feels like I’m dying, I’m definitely not.” The “ego death” that Bradley describ

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